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THURSDAY, OCTOBER 3
Concordia-Portland at Seattle Pacific
4:30 p.m. PDT, Interbay Stadium, Seattle, Wash.
 
• Buy Tickets:  www.spufalcons.com/tickets
• Webcast:  https://www.youtube.com/user/SPUsports
• LiveStats:  http://www.sidearmstats.com/spu/wsoc/
 
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 5
Seattle Pacific at Western Oregon
11:00 a.m. PDT, WOU Soccer Field, Monmouth, Ore.
 
• Webcast & LiveStats:  http://portal.stretchinternet.com/spu/
 
They're finally home, but just briefly. Seattle Pacific returns home from a four-game women's soccer road trip for a single contest before venturing out again. The Falcons (4-4-0, 2-0-0 GNAC) play their first GNAC home game on Thursday, Oct. 4 against Concordia-Portland (2-5-0, 0-1-0). Kick-off is 4:30 p.m. at Interbay Stadium where SPU has not played since Sept. 14. The Cavaliers beat SPU three times in 2018 and they tied the fourth meeting. On Saturday, Oct. 5 the Falcons will be in Monmouth, Ore. to meet Western Oregon (3-2-2, 0-1-1). SPU is undefeated in its last 31 matchups versus the Wolves. Seattle Pacific is tied atop the GNAC standings with MSU Billings, each with 2-0-0 records.
 
Players of the Week
Mason Minder (defense) and Sophia Chilczuk (offense), who helped SPU to a pair of shutout road victories to open league play, received the GNAC Player of the Week awards Monday. Minder started for the first time this season and sparked two shutouts. She played all 90 minutes in a 3-0 win at Northwest Nazarene (Sept 26), helping limit the Nighthawks to just two shots directly on goal. At Saint Martin's (Sept. 28) Minder played 84 minutes for the Falcons, who not only recorded a clean sheet, but nearly prevented any shots at all. The Saints weren't able to produce a shot until 31 seconds remained in SPU's 2-0 victory. Chilczuk scored a goal in each game, including an unassisted tally in the 75th minute for the third score at NNU. At SMU, Chilczuk started the scoring in the 47th minute with what proved to be the game-winner. Those were the first scores of 2019 for the junior forward, who topped the team in goals last season with eight. Chilczuk now has 14 career goals as a Falcon and eight of them were game-winning strikes.
 


Throw-Ins
Claire Neder has netted three goals this season, doubling her career output to six while junior classmate Sierra Smith scored twice this year, already surpassing her scoring output of one goal from the previous two seasons combined ... SPU has not a player tally more than one goal or assist in a single game ... Three Falcons contests went into overtime and each ended with a 2-1 result on an early golden goal ... SPU earned more corner kicks than an opponent just twice this year (Sept. 5 & Sept. 28).
 
2019 Season Preview
Six starters return from the NCAA playoff team that outscored opponents 40-19 in 2018. That's a fine foundation for the Falcons to build upon, but there are some holes to fill as less than half (18 of 40) of last season's goals were netted by returning players. The Falcons lost their second- and third-leading scorers in Kasey Reeve (7 goals) and Julia DeVere (4), the GNAC Defender of the Year who distributed a team-high seven assists. Heading the list of SPU's offensive returnees is junior forward Sophia Chilczuk, who topped the team with eight goals in 2018 en route to second-team All-West Region accolades. She had five game-winning strikes. Senior midfielder Megan Moore was a third-team all-region recipient with three goals and six assists to her credit. Junior midfielder Claire Neder chipped in three goals and three assists. The senior duo of Megan Nielsen and Asia Cayetano returns after starting every game last season on the back line. The defense is supported by sophomore goalkeeper Riley Travis, who posted five of the team's eight shutouts while compiling an outstanding 1.08 goals against average. Seven talented freshmen and MSU Billings transfer Samea Aljundi will vie for playing time.

 

2018 Season Review
The SPU women returned to the NCAA playoffs in 2018 after a one-year absence. The Falcons fashioned a 12-6-2 overall record and tied for third in the GNAC standings with an 8-3-1 mark. They outscored opponents 40-19 led by the eight goals of Sophia Chilczuk. Departing seniors accounted for 22 goals with seven of them from Kasey Reeve and four from All-American defender Julia DeVere, who topped the team with seven assists. DeVere was voted the GNAC Defensive Player of the Year.
 
This Week's Opponents
Concordia-Portland (2-5-0, 0-1-0) -- Thursday marks the lone meeting this season between the Cavaliers and SPU. That comes a year after they clashed on four occasions, including three meetings in Portland during a 13-day span. After tying 1-1 to close the 2018 regular season, the Falcons' GNAC and NCAA Tournament forays were both ended by matching 2-1 first-round losses at Concordia. The Cavaliers won the 2018 GNAC Tournament. They started league play last week with a 2-1 loss at MSU Billings. Kyra Radcliffe tallied four of the team's nine goals. Concordia is unbeaten in the last five meetings with the Falcons (4-0-1) to claim a 4-3-2 edge in the all-time series.
 
Western Oregon (3-2-2, 0-1-1) -- Kasey Bingham is in her first season as head coach of the Wolves, who tied 1-1 at Northwest Nazarene in their last outing after losing 1-0 at MSU Billings.  WOU is outscoring foes 13-8 paced by the four goals and two assists of Alyssa Tomasini. Goalkeeper Alex Qualls has one clean sheet and a 1.00 goals against average. The Falcons own a 31-2-1 series lead after winning last season's only meeting, 6-1. SPU is undefeated in its last 31 meetings with the Wolves, posting a 30-0-1 record since a 3-1 loss in Monmouth on Sept. 14, 2002. The Falcons won the last 11 matchups since they drew, 1-1, on Sept. 27, 2012 at WOU.
 
Coach Busey
Arby Busey is in his 14th year on the Seattle Pacific staff and his fifth as head coach. In 2018, he directed the Falcons to a 12-6-2 record and a third-place tie in the GNAC standings (8-3-1) en route to an NCAA Tournament berth. He has a 41-27-8 record at SPU, a ledger that doesn't include 10 wins from 2015 that were vacated due to the use of an ineligible player. SPU advanced to the NCAA Division II playoffs in Busey's first two seasons at the helm and again last year. From his assistant post from 2006-14, Busey helped the Falcons to an impressive 95-30-12 record and playoff appearances each year. SPU won the 2008 NCAA Division II championship and reached the 2007 national semifinals. He is a 1993 graduate of Villanova and was the Idaho head coach from 2002-04 where he had an 8-40-7 record.
 
GNAC Tournament
Seattle Pacific's Interbay Stadium will host the 2019 GNAC Women's Soccer Tournament. Semifinal games are slated for 4 and 7 p.m. on Nov. 14 with the winners meeting in the championship game on Nov. 16 at 1 p.m. The champion receives the league's automatic berth into the NCAA Division II Tournament.
 
Next Week
The Seattle Pacific women will play consecutive home games at Interbay Stadium for the first time in a month. They entertain Simon Fraser on Oct. 12 at 4:30 p.m. followed by an Oct. 17 rematch with Saint Martin's at 7 p.m.